ERO Baltimore and HSI Baltimore join forces to apprehend fugitive wanted for killing Chilean police officer
BALTIMORE - Deportation officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Baltimore and special agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore apprehended a Chilean national wanted for killing a police officer in his home country. Luis Alberto Rojas-Carreno, 34, was taken into custody Thursday in Bethesda, Maryland.
Rojas-Carreno has convictions in Chile from 2013 for trafficking firearms and munitions and again in 2014 for three counts of trafficking small quantities, making threats to the military police, and for possession or carrying weapons subject to control.
“Luis Rojas-Carreno has a criminal history dating back to 2013,” said Field Office Director Lyle Boelens of ERO Baltimore. “He is a fugitive and a felon who posed a threat to law-abiding residents of Maryland. ERO Baltimore will exhaust every resource to ensure the safety of our Maryland communities from criminals like Rojas-Carreno.”
Rojas-Carreno entered the United States in June 2018 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, on a nonimmigrant visa waiver - visitor for pleasure. He was authorized to remain in the U.S. until September 2018. He did not depart the U.S. when required.
In April 2021, Chilean officials issued a warrant for Rojas-Carreno’s arrest charging him with a qualified homicide that resulted in the death of a Chilean police officer.
HSI’s Counterterrorism and Criminal Exploitation Unit notified HSI Baltimore of Rojas-Carreno’s outstanding warrant for arrest in October 2021.
Upon arresting Rojas-Carreno, deportation officers from ERO Baltimore issued him a Notice of Intent to Issue a Final Administrative Removal Order, and Final Administrative Removal Order. Rojas-Carreno remains in ERO custody, pending his removal to Chile.
ERO officers make enforcement decisions on a case-by-case basis in a professional and responsible manner, informed by their experience as law enforcement officials and in a way that best protects against the greatest threats to the homeland.
Noncitizens placed into removal proceedings receive their legal due process from federal immigration judges in the immigration courts, which are administered by the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review, or EOIR. EOIR is an agency within the U.S. Department of Justice and is separate from the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Immigration judges in these courts make decisions based on the merits of each individual case. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers carry out the removal decisions made by the federal immigration judges.
In fiscal year 2021, ERO arrested 12,025 individuals with aggravated felony convictions. Offenses associated with noncitizens arrested in FY 2021 included 1,506 homicide related offenses, 3,415 sexual assaults, 19,549 assaults, 2,717 robberies and 1,063 kidnappings.
ICE’s ERO directorate upholds U.S. immigration law at, within and beyond our borders. ERO operations target public safety threats, such as convicted criminal noncitizens and gang members, as well as individuals who have otherwise violated our nation's immigration laws, including those who illegally reentered the country after being removed and immigration fugitives ordered removed by federal immigration judges. ERO deportation officers assigned to Interpol also assist in targeting foreign fugitives or fugitive arrest and removal cases of those who are wanted for crimes committed abroad and who are now at-large in the United States. ERO manages all aspects of the immigration enforcement process, including identification and arrest, detention, bond management, supervised release, transportation and removal. In addition, ERO repatriates noncitizens ordered removed from the United States. to more than 170 countries around the world.
HSI is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 6,800 special agents assigned to 225 cities throughout the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s international presence represents the Department of Homeland Security’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.
Members of the public can report crimes and/or suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.
Learn more about ICE’s mission to increase public safety in your community on Twitter @EROBaltimore.
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